Meet the Author: Asali Solomon, “Disgruntled”

Calling all ¡Adelante! book club members! Join AAUW for our book discussion with former AAUW American Fellow Asali Solomon, author of Disgruntled. Submit your questions in advance using the form below, and come join us live to hear what the author has to say!

Kenya Curtis is only 8 years old, but she knows that she’s different. It’s not because she’s black — most of the other students in the fourth-grade class at her West Philadelphia elementary school are, too. Maybe it’s because she celebrates Kwanzaa, or because she’s forbidden from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Maybe it’s because she calls her father “Baba” instead of “Daddy.” What Kenya does know is that her difference is connected to what her Baba calls “the shame of being alive.”

Effortlessly funny and achingly poignant, Asali Solomon’s long-awaited debut novel follows Kenya from West Philadelphia to the suburbs, from public school to private, from childhood through adolescence, as she grows increasingly disgruntled by her inability to find any place or thing or person that feels like home. A coming-of-age tale, a portrait of Philadelphia in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, an examination of the impossible double binds of race, Disgruntled is a novel about the desire to rise above the limitations of the narratives we’re given and the painful struggle to craft fresh ones we can call our own.

About ¡Adelante! Book of the Month Club

Female authors are much less likely than male authors to have their books reviewed in major publications like the New York Times and Harper’s Magazine. That’s why we created the ¡Adelante! Book of the Month Club: to spotlight engrossing stories and writing by women from all backgrounds. We also connect our members to some of the authors we feature through web discussions. Stay in the know about upcoming ¡Adelante! events, or create your own book club.